The Forger's Daughter

A Mayfair art dealer lies dead in his own gallery, and the only witness to his final hours is a young woman who claims to be his natural daughter. The solicitor handling the estate has no wish to hand a fortune to an impostor, and no confidence the police will trouble themselves with the question. He hires Miss Temperance Vane.

Temperance has built her discreet enquiry practice on a single working principle: grief and guilt wear the same face. She has no intention of accepting either on faith. The claimant's story shifts with every interview, a Scotland Yard inspector is distracted by scandal at the Press Club, and somewhere in the gallery's ledgers a careful trail of forgery waits to be followed by anyone patient enough to examine the brushwork.

The Miss Temperance Vane, Enquiries series returns with its second case, set against the gaslit drawing rooms and cluttered back offices of Edwardian London. Temperance is assisted by her sharp-eyed associate Nell, hindered by a solicitor who considers discretion a personal religion, and watched, with increasing professional interest, by an inspector who has learned not to underestimate her.

For readers who want Agatha Christie's plotting served with P.G. Wodehouse's tone, The Forger's Daughter offers a country-house mystery in city clothes: fair clues, satisfying reveals, and a heroine who observes the absurdity of her world with affectionate contempt. Period detail is worn lightly, the supporting cast is genuinely eccentric, and the central question, whether the girl at the door is heiress, impostor, or something far worse, is answered in full before the final page.

Book Two in the Miss Temperance Vane, Enquiries series. Perfect for fans of witty female sleuths, Edwardian London, and murder served with a twist of humour.